Collections of Resources on Education for Sustainability and Green Living

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Character and Kindness Education - Lesson Plans

Research shows that students who learn in a positive environment
have a better school experience — they enjoy higher test scores, learn
new skills at a faster rate, and are overall happier at school. We're in
our third year of researching the implementation of our lesson plans in classrooms across two school districts, and we’ve witnessed first-hand that practicing kindness in the classroom transforms not only students, but teachers and entire school cultures as well.

For any educational context, from preschool and elementary through
the teen years, in schools large and small as well as home-school, we
provide resources to supplement, complement, and support positive
behavior goals. You'll find excellent resources like our free lesson plans, kindness project ideas, downloadable calendars and graphics, and more.

Kindness Resources

We offer a variety of other kindness resources that are sure to
inspire kindness in you and your students. You can download and share kindness calendars, posters, cards, and videos.

Kindness Clubs

If you really like doing random acts of kindness and don't
already have a club in your school, perhaps you should start a RAK Club.
Visit our Kindness Clubs page for helpful tips on getting started. Once you get going, we'll list your club on our website.

Kindness Research

Is there science behind kindness? There is evidence that being
kind can make a real difference to the well-being and health of
individuals who both practice and receive it. Find the latest kindness
research here.

Kindness
is a natural anti depressant because it causes a release of serotonin
in our brain. Serotonin plays an important part in learning, memory,
mood, sleep, health and digestion. It heightens our sense of well being,
increases energy and gives a wonderful feeling of positivity and self
worth.

In a famous study undertaken by Dr Sonja
Lyubomirsky, Professor, University of California, students were asked to
commit five random acts of kindness a week for six weeks. They showed a
41.66% increase in happiness.

The Social Capital
Community Benchmark Survey, overseen by Harvard University researchers
found those who volunteered time or money to help others were 42 per
cent more likely to describe themselves as happy.

Better Concentration

When
children are happy and feel good about themselves, they have a positive
outlook which allows them greater attention spans and enables more
creative thinking.

Increased Self Esteem

Fewer Disruptions

Kind, happy children get along better with others and are less likely to disrupt the class to gain attention.

More Time

When
children are getting along, they’re able to work together in a calm and
sensible way which means you can spend more time teaching and less time
on discipline.

Less Bullying

Kind
children know that making others feel good also makes them happy. They
want to be around those who treat them with respect and know what it
means to be a good friend. Kind children are well liked, have more
friends, are more included, feel better about themselves and are
therefore less likely to bully.

Less Stress

When
you have happy, co-operative children, you have a peaceful, productive
classroom. You won’t need to discipline your children as much which
means they’ll also like you more.
Better Results

When
children have less to worry about and feel more positive about
themselves, their friends and their environment, they’re able to
concentrate on learning to achieve better results.
Greater Attendance

Positive School Culture

Happy children means positive, capable children, which in turn creates happy, relaxed teachers and a positive school culture.

Incorporating
Ripple Kindness Project into your classroom doesn’t need to be
stressful and your initial investment of time can create huge benefits
for not just your students, but for the whole school and it’s community.

Comprehensive character education addresses many tough
issues in education while developing a positive school climate. It can
be effective in any school setting, as our National Schools of Character
demonstrate. Educators from this diverse array of schools have
transformed their school cultures, reduced discipline referrals,
increased academic achievement for all learners, developed global
citizens, and improved job satisfaction and retention among teachers.

Character
education includes and complements a broad range of educational
approaches such as whole child education, service learning,
social-emotional learning, and civic education. All share a commitment
to helping young people become responsible, caring, and contributing
citizens.
Because students spend so much time in school, our schools offer a
critically important opportunity to ensure that all students get the
support and help they need to reach their full potential. Schools that
embrace character education become places people want to be because they
bring out the best in everyone.

To be effective in schools, character education must involve
everyone—school staff, parents, students, and community members—and be
part of every school day. It must be integrated into the
curriculum as well as school culture. When this happens and school
communities unite around developing character, schools see amazing
results.

Character education is not new—and it is something we can all agree
on. It was an important objective for the first U.S. public schools and
today it is mandated or encouraged in most states. The current movement
is simply a reminder of education’s long history of stressing shared
values and character.Effective character education takes time, as Aaron Chalker, of 2011
National School of Character Pierce Elementary School, can attest. But
the results are well worth it. Watch this video to learn more about
effective character education.The 11 Principles of Effective Character Educationare
the cornerstone of CEP’s philosophy on effective character education.
Each principle outlines vital aspects of character education initiatives
that should not be overlooked in program implementation. From
curriculum integration to extra-curricular activities, from parent and
community partnerships to staff development – the 11 Principles of
Effective Character Education offer fundamental guidance for educators
and community leaders to maximize their character education outcomes.
Learn more about the criteria CEP uses to determine its National Schools of Character by downloading our 11 Principles of Effective Character Education. Additional resources to learn more about character education: